I totally agree with this. One reason why aesthetics have gotten lost during this recent era (which is indeed ending) is because writers have largely been drawn or come up through the world of television. I find that people who primarily learn screenwriting via TV writing have learned styles that are overly talky, don’t rely on cinematic storytelling and images, and don’t create visual vibes on the page. I believe this is one of the main reasons we have lost aesthetics recently — it’s the broadcastification of all.
I think this is one of the reasons why A24 has done as well as they have, because many of their releases (and especially the ones that broke through) show that consideration was given to aesthetic appeal.
There is a lot of stuff being released that seems to exist as CONTENT or MATERIAL to fill a pipeline and the aversion to marketing content has made it difficult for films or shows that might be meaningful visually appealing find an audience. 15 years ago, AMC invested and made sure people knew that new episodes of Mad Men and Breaking Bad were on their way and built anticipation. It used to be better.
In TV it's even worse, there is the fatal notion that a writers room and a bunch of execs can make it work. They do, but 'make it work' has never been synonym for great. And it's not as if the aesthetics of a movie can be left to art directors or directors of photography either. I recently saw a movie at Tribeca Festival that showed very strong DP choices/aesthetics in every single shot and yet, was unwatchable as a whole. Aesthetics is not solely a question of visual choices it's a thought process that comes from the director. What's lacking in today's films and TV series are simply directors as authors. Bring them in and both meaning and aesthetics will follow.
At our PR firm, we promote public interest advocates who offer new thinking on how to solve national problems. Consequently, we have had the pleasure of representing a large number of "thought leaders" who demonstrate thoughtfulness and intellectual honesty.
Although "Hollywood" is not rated a top 10 problem among U.S. voters, it is widely perceived as a once great institution that has been severely degraded.
Compared to other film industry leaders and commentators, Roy Price consistently stands out as the most impressive "though leader." For those who would like to create commercial content, we recommend reading his articles again and again.
As a follow-up question: where would you draw the line between meaning and messaging? As you pointed out in another post, Hollywood has put agenda above entertainment, but it’s relatively easy to confuse and (willfully) mistake meaning for messaging, and vice versa. How do you make the distinction between those similar concepts in our polarized and politically hyper-charged times?
Ha! Hire execs that were film majors? I concur. Thirty years ago that was me… Walking in Disney’s door, I could not just give story notes but also edit, compose shots and storyboard.
Brilliantly said! Thank you! We will be sharing your article with our entire film crew.
I started touring with my docs in 2018 meeting the audience face to face in Q&As. It quickly became obvious that audiences were undeserved intellectually and spiritually. Those encounters fueled me to form a film company in 2021 putting touring with our films at the core of our mission.
I believe that prioritized and intimate director to audience relationship can heal the growing disconnect in our industry. The rest is theory that lives in the head. The rest is numbers and hypothesis. And while the head is important so is the energetic imprint a live audience will leave on a film director.
Yesterday a friend remarked, “No one will make a movie like ‘Stalker’ today.” I invite friends and colleagues to be patient, to be kind, to be curious, to make their film as if it’s the last one they will ever make. Think about it - doesn’t every Tarkovsky film, every Bergman, Lean or Wells film feel like the last one of their careers? Doesn’t every great novel we have inherited through the times feel like the last one we will ever read?
If Death was to do us apart tomorrow, what kind of film would we leave behind today?
IDK. I appreciate this, but I kind of don't know what you're talking about, either. I've seen some of the best movies in theaters since the pandemic. No, these aren't blockbuster, but Poor Things, Tuesday, Sanctuary, and many others are top movies, and shows like Severance are top tier shows. I've watched some of the wildest things I've ever seen in movies and TV, but yeah, you have to look for it because everything is bifurcated in a thousand ways. They don't bubble up to the surface b/c there is not monoculture. Instead, there are books and music and tv and movies that are as good as anything that have ever existed, but you have to look for them. They don't smack you in the face, and that is a problem, b/c entertaining is a numbers game.
You're definitely right about Poor Things. And yes each to his or her own. This is my impression though. I may be over-focused on specific streamers! I think there was more ambitious material before, but it is hard to prove. What is certainly true is that IMDb shows rated 8+ substantially declined.
I totally agree with this. One reason why aesthetics have gotten lost during this recent era (which is indeed ending) is because writers have largely been drawn or come up through the world of television. I find that people who primarily learn screenwriting via TV writing have learned styles that are overly talky, don’t rely on cinematic storytelling and images, and don’t create visual vibes on the page. I believe this is one of the main reasons we have lost aesthetics recently — it’s the broadcastification of all.
That's true!
I think this is one of the reasons why A24 has done as well as they have, because many of their releases (and especially the ones that broke through) show that consideration was given to aesthetic appeal.
There is a lot of stuff being released that seems to exist as CONTENT or MATERIAL to fill a pipeline and the aversion to marketing content has made it difficult for films or shows that might be meaningful visually appealing find an audience. 15 years ago, AMC invested and made sure people knew that new episodes of Mad Men and Breaking Bad were on their way and built anticipation. It used to be better.
Blame it on the idolatry of 'the story' and the misguided idea of filmmakers as 'storytellers'.
I wrote about this https://substack.com/home/post/p-106441594?r=1kxhhl&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
In TV it's even worse, there is the fatal notion that a writers room and a bunch of execs can make it work. They do, but 'make it work' has never been synonym for great. And it's not as if the aesthetics of a movie can be left to art directors or directors of photography either. I recently saw a movie at Tribeca Festival that showed very strong DP choices/aesthetics in every single shot and yet, was unwatchable as a whole. Aesthetics is not solely a question of visual choices it's a thought process that comes from the director. What's lacking in today's films and TV series are simply directors as authors. Bring them in and both meaning and aesthetics will follow.
At our PR firm, we promote public interest advocates who offer new thinking on how to solve national problems. Consequently, we have had the pleasure of representing a large number of "thought leaders" who demonstrate thoughtfulness and intellectual honesty.
Although "Hollywood" is not rated a top 10 problem among U.S. voters, it is widely perceived as a once great institution that has been severely degraded.
Compared to other film industry leaders and commentators, Roy Price consistently stands out as the most impressive "though leader." For those who would like to create commercial content, we recommend reading his articles again and again.
Great post but your photo of the Joker is from The Dark Knight, not the Todd Phillips film from 2019.
Oops you're right! Will change.
As a follow-up question: where would you draw the line between meaning and messaging? As you pointed out in another post, Hollywood has put agenda above entertainment, but it’s relatively easy to confuse and (willfully) mistake meaning for messaging, and vice versa. How do you make the distinction between those similar concepts in our polarized and politically hyper-charged times?
Meaning feels emotional. Messaging feels didactic.
#WoodyAllen
Ha! Hire execs that were film majors? I concur. Thirty years ago that was me… Walking in Disney’s door, I could not just give story notes but also edit, compose shots and storyboard.
Brilliantly said! Thank you! We will be sharing your article with our entire film crew.
I started touring with my docs in 2018 meeting the audience face to face in Q&As. It quickly became obvious that audiences were undeserved intellectually and spiritually. Those encounters fueled me to form a film company in 2021 putting touring with our films at the core of our mission.
I believe that prioritized and intimate director to audience relationship can heal the growing disconnect in our industry. The rest is theory that lives in the head. The rest is numbers and hypothesis. And while the head is important so is the energetic imprint a live audience will leave on a film director.
Yesterday a friend remarked, “No one will make a movie like ‘Stalker’ today.” I invite friends and colleagues to be patient, to be kind, to be curious, to make their film as if it’s the last one they will ever make. Think about it - doesn’t every Tarkovsky film, every Bergman, Lean or Wells film feel like the last one of their careers? Doesn’t every great novel we have inherited through the times feel like the last one we will ever read?
If Death was to do us apart tomorrow, what kind of film would we leave behind today?
IDK. I appreciate this, but I kind of don't know what you're talking about, either. I've seen some of the best movies in theaters since the pandemic. No, these aren't blockbuster, but Poor Things, Tuesday, Sanctuary, and many others are top movies, and shows like Severance are top tier shows. I've watched some of the wildest things I've ever seen in movies and TV, but yeah, you have to look for it because everything is bifurcated in a thousand ways. They don't bubble up to the surface b/c there is not monoculture. Instead, there are books and music and tv and movies that are as good as anything that have ever existed, but you have to look for them. They don't smack you in the face, and that is a problem, b/c entertaining is a numbers game.
You're definitely right about Poor Things. And yes each to his or her own. This is my impression though. I may be over-focused on specific streamers! I think there was more ambitious material before, but it is hard to prove. What is certainly true is that IMDb shows rated 8+ substantially declined.